Benedict, Duke of Lexerton, faces a problem. After his brother’s sudden passing, he is confronted with the necessity to find a spouse.
Trying to fulfill his obligation at the events of high society, he repeatedly encounters a strange woman. Who is this mysterious Madame P. and how is she connected to his brother’s death?
A gay historical thriller about forbidden passions, power and a deadly secret society.
Title: Masked Heart
Author: Calli Hall
Release Date: November 28th 2017
Publisher: RAWmance Publishing
Genre: Gay romance, Historical
“What is it about me that you find so repulsive? It can’t be my appearance. I share that with my brother.”
She didn’t lift her head, but only shook it quietly.
“You’re not Adam.” It was little more than a whisper in the silence of the room.
“So it is my character.” He needed all his self-control not to shake her.
“Your eyes are more blue than his. They look like the ocean on a stormy day. When you are angry, one could even mistake them for black. Your hair is blond like honey, not wheat like his was. Your face is harder and your skin is a shade of bronze. You smell like the ocean, Your Grace. Adam always smelled like perfume.”
As if she too didn’t know why she was listing the differences, her voice trailed off. In doing so, the aristocrat wondered if all of this counted for or against him. Likely the latter, as she continued to avoid his gaze.
Baffled, he stared at her black head. He couldn’t force another person to reciprocate his affections, even with power, money, or a title. For even if he could tell that she attracted him, to her he was still the brother of the man who had broken her heart.
Hurt, disappointment, and the feeling of helplessness replaced the warmth her laughter had put in his heart only a few minutes ago.
“Stop that. It’s dangerous.” He gently tried to stop her from picking up the shards by squatting down next to her and enveloping her hand in his.
“If you were your brother, then I could at least despise you, but as it is…”
The fragile hand, in which she had collected the broken glass, closed. Her knuckles were white as blood ran down her snowy white skin. However it was her eyes that pulled him into the abyss. Sorrow and despair were written in them, tears shimmering like precious diamonds. Benedikt pulled her face to his, pressing his mouth against hers. He tasted the salt on her lips, removing the traces with his tongue. He wanted to take her every teardrop from her. To his surprise she didn’t fight back, didn’t push him away, but rather she allowed it.
Something stuck out in his mind. He wasn’t kissing her like a lover, but rather possessively. As if he had to assert his claim at that exact moment. He was marking her with his kiss just as an animal would.
